JEANCON] EXCAVATIONS IN THE CHAMA VALLEY tel 
vation we dug other holes, 1 and 1.3 m., respectively, in depth, and 
again encountered the native soil; thus proving that there were no 
floors or other house remains below the present level in that place. 
There is no doubt that the walls and floors were completely washed 
out along this line, which is about 22 m. above the road at the foot 
of the mesa. Along the sides of the mesa, below this point, and for 
some distance out onto the level, are potsherds which have been 
washed down from above. Thesame washing out of walls and floors 
occurs in several other places in a greater or less degree. 
WALLS 
After the cobbles were set in the sandy surface of the mesa the in- 
terstices were filled with nodules of adobe and the erection of the 
wall proceeded. (PI.6.) The following description of the erecting 
of a wall which I saw built by a woman at Santa Clara will give a 
good idea of the manner in which the walls of the ruin were con- 
structed. Having selected and laid out the line where the wall was 
to be built, she mixed her clay or adobe thoroughly, then taking up 
as much as she could conveniently carry in her two hands, each piece 
about the size of a large apple (pl. 6), she laid them on the line, 
which in the case of the ruin would be represented by the cobble- 
stones setonend. The nodules of clay were then patted and molded 
into place and she went back to her puddle for more. This process 
was continued until the desired height was obtained and the wall was 
left todry. The next day I was surprised to find that the shrinkage 
in the wall from drying was not following the line and form of the 
nodules, but more or less forming square and obleng masses of vari- 
ous sizes, and showing what appeared to be fairly regular courses. 
I also observed the same type of shrinkage in the newly erected 
church at Santa Clara. The cracks caused by the shrinkage were 
afterwards filled with wet clay and allowed to dry before the final 
wash was put on. 
There is no doubt that the walls of the ruin were built in the same 
manner as the one I have just described. We tore apart sections of 
walls in all of the locations and found the same type of nodule and 
the same kind of shrinkage into square or oblong masses. The cracks, 
as at Santa Clara, were filled in after the wall was dry, or at least par- 
tially dry. However, we found this difference: all of the wall surface 
in the cracks was smoked clear through the wall. This condition was 
accounted for by one of the laborers who was born at Hano on the 
Walpi (Hopi) Mesa. He said that often when the Hopi build a wall 
and want it to dry quickly they build a fire along the base of it and 
dry it in that way. The chinking showed no marks of fire on the in- 
side, thus demonstrating that it was placed in position later. Although 
no foreign matter, such as sticks, charcoal, or ash, were used for 
